Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26, part 2

[Bad-Thoma]

no, its dumb.

Pritchard could play center as well, still dumb.

Nothing worse than posts that say "that's dumb" yet give zero explanation as to why.

Even worse when the thing they claim is dumb is an article that was very well thought out, articulate, in depth, nuanced and backed by data, historical examples and lots of game film

And no, Payton Pritchard playing center is not the same as jayson Tatum playing center. That's an incredibly weak argument.

Telling someone that taking a bath with a toaster is dumb does not need any more said than that.

The notion is dumb.

[playa-hater]

I say wait for Hauser to have one of his Gets Hot shooting games, then try to trade him for even a 2nd rder. Shed his 10 million and let Walsh/Hugo eat his minutes. He doesn't Fit anymore. And this is coming from one of his biggest supporters early on.

[Parliament10]

no, its dumb.

Pritchard could play center as well, still dumb.

Nothing worse than posts that say "that's dumb" yet give zero explanation as to why.

Even worse when the thing they claim is dumb is an article that was very well thought out, articulate, in depth, nuanced and backed by data, historical examples and lots of game film

And no, Payton Pritchard playing center is not the same as jayson Tatum playing center. That's an incredibly weak argument.

Telling someone that taking a bath with a toaster is dumb does not need any more said than that.

The notion is dumb.

You've already been Banned a number times, for attacking other posters.
I'm going to request a longer-term Ban.

~ Parl

[Hal14]

no, its dumb.

Pritchard could play center as well, still dumb.

Nothing worse than posts that say "that's dumb" yet give zero explanation as to why.

Even worse when the thing they claim is dumb is an article that was very well thought out, articulate, in depth, nuanced and backed by data, historical examples and lots of game film

And no, Payton Pritchard playing center is not the same as jayson Tatum playing center. That's an incredibly weak argument.

I don't think it's a crazy idea, but I think it's very unlikely Tatum is going to be playing Center for the Celtics to any significant degree.

First of all, he's just not big enough. He was listed as 6'8, with a 6'11 wingspan and an 8'11 wingspan before the draft. He's grown a bit, especially height wise, but you still want a standing reach closer to 9'2+ and a wingspan of more like 7'2+ for a center.

This deficiency will show up most in paint protection. Tatum is a good secondary rim protector at forward, but ideally your center will either A) Deter shots at the rim from occurring or B) Lower opponents' accuracy at the rim. Tatum doesn't really do either. Looking at cleaning the glass opponents took a higher % of their shots at the rim (+2.6%), and made a higher percentage of those shots (+1.2%), when Tatum was on the floor then off last season. Same for the season before that. His overall block% is fine for a wing, hovering around .7%-.8%, but its not center level. Now of course part of that is just that you have different responsibilities playing wing vs if he were playing center, but still he's not a shot deterrent.

Compare this to a couple other rim protectors. Numbers are on/off for 24-25 season.
With Zubaac on rim attempts declined by -4.7% (elite), opponents shot 2.0% better on those shots.
With Turner on rim attempts declined by 0.5%, opponents shot 4.5% worse on those shots.
With Mobley on rim attempts declined by 3.3%, opponents shot 2.5% worse on those shots.
With Kornet on rim attempts declined by 2.2%, opponents shot 5.2% worse on those attempts.
With Kessler on rim attempts declined by 3.3%, opponents shot 1.4% worse on those attempts.
With Gobert on rim attempts declined by 5.9% (elite), opponents shot 2.4% worse on those attempts.

Or lastly for this year so far: With Queta on rim attempts decline by 5.7%, opponents shoot 6.5% worse on those attempts.

Tatum is a great player, but he's not a center. There's a reason centers are Queta's size, he's 6'11.5 with a 9'5 standing reach and a 7'4 wingspan. that size supercharges rim protection.

Ideally, sure. In a perfect world, sure. In a perfect world, we'd have someone like Rudy Gobert to play center. But it's not a perfect world.

Pitino said Larry, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale aren't walking through that door. Well I"m saying that Gobert, Zubac and Mobley are not walking through that door.

To win a championship, you put your best players on the floor.

If Queta is our starting center, then we're not putting our best players on the floor. I do think it's possible Queta could maybe be a decent *backup* big on a championship team - but likely not a starter.

Tatum looks like he's grown since the draft to around 6'9"...he's obviously bulked up a bit over the years and is likely around 230 lbs now, if not more. Standing reach, most centers are at least 9'0"..Tatum at 8'11" is close enough..and that's an old measurement, so he could have grown to be right at 9'0" now.

And in the article there's a bunch of video footage of Tatum defending bigs, defending the paint, blocking shots, etc.
https://thecenterhub.substack.com/p/starting-at-center-for-the-boston

Is it ideal? No. In a perfect world, he's playing more at the 3 and 4. But it's not a perfect world. Sometimes you have to play guys at a different position, based on your personnel and roster construction in order to have your best players on the floor.

And think about how much of a nightmare it would be for opposing 5's to try and guard tatum out on the perimeter. There's clips in the article that show just that - with Tatum having a field day when guys like Bitadze and Gobert switch onto him.

If we are able to acquire a starting caliber center? Great, then do it and play Tatum at the 3/4. But that's much easier said than done. Other teams aren't trying to do us any favors. Other teams know we need a center and aren't gonna just hand a quality big over to us. Usually if teams have a good center, they keep him..

Plus after a torn achilles, most players lose a step. We can make it so he's chasing guys around the perimeter less and (literally) putting less miles on him by playing him at the 5. In terms of how many miles per game guys run, guards run more miles than forwards, forwards run more miles than centers. And guards are having to do more taxing lateral movements when defending guys out on the perimeter than forwards..forwards are having to do more taxing lateral movements when defending guys out on the perimeter than centers..so playing him at center, we decrease the chances of further leg injuries to Tatum - the highest paid player in league history, coming off a very serious leg injury.

[Celticlifer]

I say wait for Hauser to have one of his Gets Hot shooting games, then try to trade him for even a 2nd rder. Shed his 10 million and let Walsh/Hugo eat his minutes. He doesn't Fit anymore. And this is coming from one of his biggest supporters early on.

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

[Celts17Pride]

I say wait for Hauser to have one of his Gets Hot shooting games, then try to trade him for even a 2nd rder. Shed his 10 million and let Walsh/Hugo eat his minutes. He doesn't Fit anymore. And this is coming from one of his biggest supporters early on.

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

In Hauser's 3 full years, 85% of his shots are three pointers and he averages 16 free throw attempts per year with 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
Hauser's this year, 93% of his shots are three pointers and he has 4 free throw attempts with 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Hauser is what he is, a specialist.

In my opinion, I think the Celtics should sell (high?) and replace with a more complete player. Don't think the Celtics have the luxury of keeping specialists.

Again, that being said I would only trade Hauser packaged with Simons and possibly picks to bring back more significant piece or pieces. If there is nothing available, then there is really no reason to trade Hauser in my opinion.

[playa-hater]

I say wait for Hauser to have one of his Gets Hot shooting games, then try to trade him for even a 2nd rder. Shed his 10 million and let Walsh/Hugo eat his minutes. He doesn't Fit anymore. And this is coming from one of his biggest supporters early on.

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

While having a potential floor spacer and shooter is always optimal when playing with Tatum. My hope is Walsh or Minott or Hugo can be close to what Hauser is as a knock down shooter. But definitely supply a much better all around game. Especially when it comes to making an impact without the ball in his hands. Sam Hauser does not make a impact unless he is hitting those shots.

[JMAC3]

Outside looking in, I doubt Boston makes a massive trade this season. Hard to say because as it stands doesn't seem like they are fully willing to tank so maybe they try to sneak into playoffs. That being said, to me the objective seems pretty straight forward.
1. Cut 4-5 million in salary to avoid the tax.
2. Trade Simons for a 2 year contract. Letting Simons walk doesn't help Boston, and I doubt they plan to resign him. So the most logical move is to trade him for someone who can help in short term and kick the 20-25 million placeholder down the road for another year until you find a better deal.

One idea that could make sense is Simons for Miles Bridges.
Saves Celtics a few million, Miles contract is descending so even cheaper next year.
He gives the Celtics a bit more size at forward and can still provide scoring punch that Simons is giving.

In this scenario I think Hornets would be doing deal for salary relief to try to open up cap space in future.

[Celts17Pride]

Outside looking in, I doubt Boston makes a massive trade this season. Hard to say because as it stands doesn't seem like they are fully willing to tank so maybe they try to sneak into playoffs. That being said, to me the objective seems pretty straight forward.
1. Cut 4-5 million in salary to avoid the tax.
2. Trade Simons for a 2 year contract. Letting Simons walk doesn't help Boston, and I doubt they plan to resign him. So the most logical move is to trade him for someone who can help in short term and kick the 20-25 million placeholder down the road for another year until you find a better deal.

One idea that could make sense is Simons for Miles Bridges.
Saves Celtics a few million, Miles contract is descending so even cheaper next year.
He gives the Celtics a bit more size at forward and can still provide scoring punch that Simons is giving.

In this scenario I think Hornets would be doing deal for salary relief to try to open up cap space in future.

Don't know if the Celtics have any interest in Miles Bridges for many reasons including that he plays the same position as Jayson Tatum, but I do agree with your logic.

[redslastlaugh]

Bridges doesn't (obviously) seem like a Brad kind of guy

But, worth noting, we are not $4-5 million over the tax, we are $12 million over the tax ... and holding a salary slot is less important right now because we can take a player into KP's traded player exemption before mid-July, a TPE that lets us take a contract up to $22 million.

Outside looking in, I doubt Boston makes a massive trade this season. Hard to say because as it stands doesn't seem like they are fully willing to tank so maybe they try to sneak into playoffs. That being said, to me the objective seems pretty straight forward.
1. Cut 4-5 million in salary to avoid the tax.
2. Trade Simons for a 2 year contract. Letting Simons walk doesn't help Boston, and I doubt they plan to resign him. So the most logical move is to trade him for someone who can help in short term and kick the 20-25 million placeholder down the road for another year until you find a better deal.

One idea that could make sense is Simons for Miles Bridges.
Saves Celtics a few million, Miles contract is descending so even cheaper next year.
He gives the Celtics a bit more size at forward and can still provide scoring punch that Simons is giving.

In this scenario I think Hornets would be doing deal for salary relief to try to open up cap space in future.

Don't know if the Celtics have any interest in Miles Bridges for many reasons including that he plays the same position as Jayson Tatum, but I do agree with your logic.

[Hal14]

I say wait for Hauser to have one of his Gets Hot shooting games, then try to trade him for even a 2nd rder. Shed his 10 million and let Walsh/Hugo eat his minutes. He doesn't Fit anymore. And this is coming from one of his biggest supporters early on.

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

In Hauser's 3 full years, 85% of his shots are three pointers and he averages 16 free throw attempts per year with 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
Hauser's this year, 93% of his shots are three pointers and he has 4 free throw attempts with 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Hauser is what he is, a specialist.

In my opinion, I think the Celtics should sell (high?) and replace with a more complete player. Don't think the Celtics have the luxury of keeping specialists.

1) Complete player..what does that even mean? You want a guy who plays same position as Hauser (wing/forward) who can do it all? Sounds like either Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Julius Randle or Franz?

We're not getting any of those guys.

Sure, if this were fantasy land we could trade Hauser for Franz. But in reality, that deal isn't happening for a variety of reasons. I mean, even a guy like OG Anunoby is really just a 3&D guy. Better defender and rebounder than Hauser..maybe a little bit better driver. But Hauser is a better shooter..and OG is making $36mil a year but is on an ascending contract that will pay like $48 mil during its last year.

2) This is a strange argument. You make it seem like there's something wrong with having a very good 3&D guy on a team friendly contract. Hauser is like the perfect 7th man. He was a very good 7th man when we won the 2024 title. He's been a good rotational player for like 3 years now.

I mean obviously if we can just snap our fingers and poof, trade him for a starting caliber big who makes equal to less $ then sure, do it. But if something like that was possible, it probably would have happened by now. A team probably isn't going to trade us a good starting center for a good backup wing.

[ryan in Maine]

Don't forget we've got a #1 pick next season.

[Celts17Pride]

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

In Hauser's 3 full years, 85% of his shots are three pointers and he averages 16 free throw attempts per year with 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
Hauser's this year, 93% of his shots are three pointers and he has 4 free throw attempts with 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Hauser is what he is, a specialist.

In my opinion, I think the Celtics should sell (high?) and replace with a more complete player. Don't think the Celtics have the luxury of keeping specialists.

1) Complete player..what does that even mean? You want a guy who plays same position as Hauser (wing/forward) who can do it all? Sounds like either Tatum, Kawhi Leonard, Julius Randle or Franz?

We're not getting any of those guys.

Sure, if this were fantasy land we could trade Hauser for Franz. But in reality, that deal isn't happening for a variety of reasons. I mean, even a guy like OG Anunoby is really just a 3&D guy. Better defender and rebounder than Hauser..maybe a little bit better driver. But Hauser is a better shooter..and OG is making $36mil a year but is on an ascending contract that will pay like $48 mil during its last year.

2) This is a strange argument. You make it seem like there's something wrong with having a very good 3&D guy on a team friendly contract. Hauser is like the perfect 7th man. He was a very good 7th man when we won the 2024 title. He's been a good rotational player for like 3 years now.

I mean obviously if we can just snap our fingers and poof, trade him for a starting caliber big who makes equal to less $ then sure, do it. But if something like that was possible, it probably would have happened by now. A team probably isn't going to trade us a good starting center for a good backup wing.

Nice of you to leave off half of the post.

[redslastlaugh]

It's not whether Hauser fits this year. He probably doesn't. But next year, he will be a good fit with Tatum back and a stronger center position.

In Hauser's 3 full years, 85% of his shots are three pointers and he averages 16 free throw attempts per year with 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
Hauser's this year, 93% of his shots are three pointers and he has 4 free throw attempts with 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Hauser is what he is, a specialist.

In my opinion, I think the Celtics should sell (high?) and replace with a more complete player. Don't think the Celtics have the luxury of keeping specialists.

2) This is a strange argument. You make it seem like there's something wrong with having a very good 3&D guy on a team friendly contract. Hauser is like the perfect 7th man. He was a very good 7th man when we won the 2024 title. He's been a good rotational player for like 3 years now.

I mean obviously if we can just snap our fingers and poof, trade him for a starting caliber big who makes equal to less $ then sure, do it. But if something like that was possible, it probably would have happened by now. A team probably isn't going to trade us a good starting center for a good backup wing.

With the Jays on supermaxes, and now that the aprons/CBA have been fully baked into how teams value players, it's not clear Sam is on team friendly contract. It seems like an eye of the beholder contract (except for Sam, who is eatin! lol) that some teams could view as positive, some neutral and some negatively.

Payton is on a great contract, two more years totaling $16 million. Hauser, three more years totaling $35 million, I dunno. I am the biggest Sam booster, I love his chemistry and +/- with JT, I argue for Sam on the Trade board every few months, and even I am starting to think Sam's deal feels either too rich or too long. The aprons are real, man

[Fierce1]

John Wall thinks Anthony Davis is done with Mavericks and wants to join hometown Bulls?
https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2025/11/13/john-wall-thinks-anthony-davis-is-done-with-mavericks-and-wants-to-join-hometown-bulls/87250444007/

If AD goes to Chicago then Vuc will be available.

My trade proposal of Vuc and Coby White for Simons and Hauser will be good for both teams.

[hugepatsfan]

I'll throw this out there...

Simons/Hauser for Nic Claxton. Maybe multi team if BRK doesn't want those players and maybe picks added. That deal sheds $12.3M. We're currently $12.1M below the tax so the pro rated signing to get back to 14 players would take us over. Probably need to dump Tillman somewhere too and then backfill him with a pro rated signing too to duck the tax. All very doable.

This year's rotation would be:

Pritchard
White / Hugo
Brown / Scheirman
Walsh / Minnott
Claxton / Queta

Light on ball handlers obviously, but next year when Tatum is back...

White / Pritchard
Brown / Hugo
Walsh / Scheierman
Tatum / Minnott
Claxton / Queta

+ our draft pick

That team would actually be below the luxury tax too, so they could reset repeater rates.

Depending on who our pick is and how Walsh/Scheierman/Hugo/Minott play the rest of this year, there's many variations you could run in that lineup. I went with Pritchard back to the bench to stagger with White for the PG minutes so we always have enough ball handling, but maybe they draft a PG. Basically, one of Hugo/Scheierman/Walsh/Minott/2026 1st rounder are out of the rotation and one of them (or Pritchard) starts with Tatum/Brown/White/Claxton. But overall that's a pretty good 10 man rotation that should let them totally reset the cap sheet and just move forward uninhibited financially for the rest of Tatum/Brown/White primes.

[Fierce1]

Just trade Simons and a pick for Claxton.

Then trade Hauser for another PG because the Cs need another ball handler if Simons is gone.

Bad idea if White and PP are the only ball handlers on the team.

Cs will need that 3rd PG.

Maybe Sam for Coby White.

[redslastlaugh]

I caught a few minutes of the Nets/Raps game a couple days ago, and I thought Claxton looked too slight. I mean, I've always thought he looked slight, but I think he's too small to be a full time center thats going to theoretically need to contend with Jokic, Hartenstein, Steven Adams, etc in a series.

Also, I dont blame Claxton for how bad Nets have been lately, & his career (after last yr) seems to be back on track to start the year, but the Brad Stevens bigman archetype: shooting with size & defense, Claxton doesn't seem to check enough of those boxes because he can't shoot 3's

I'd probably still do this deal though if we don't have to add picks just for the financial part. But I'd probably want to then flip Claxton after this year rather than keep him. I was the biggest Sam Hauser fan, but his deal having 3more years and $35 million, is kind of limiting our optionality with tax/spron issues and both Jays on the supermax

I'll throw this out there...

Simons/Hauser for Nic Claxton. Maybe multi team if BRK doesn't want those players and maybe picks added. That deal sheds $12.3M. We're currently $12.1M below the tax so the pro rated signing to get back to 14 players would take us over. Probably need to dump Tillman somewhere too and then backfill him with a pro rated signing too to duck the tax. All very doable.


That team would actually be below the luxury tax too, so they could reset repeater rates.

Depending on who our pick is and how Walsh/Scheierman/Hugo/Minott play the rest of this year, there's many variations you could run in that lineup. I went with Pritchard back to the bench to stagger with White for the PG minutes so we always have enough ball handling, but maybe they draft a PG. Basically, one of Hugo/Scheierman/Walsh/Minott/2026 1st rounder are out of the rotation and one of them (or Pritchard) starts with Tatum/Brown/White/Claxton. But overall that's a pretty good 10 man rotation that should let them totally reset the cap sheet and just move forward uninhibited financially for the rest of Tatum/Brown/White primes.

[Fierce1]

Claxton is small in terms of body type, so it's a valid point to say Claxton will struggle against bigs like Jokic and Hartenstein.

So this brings us back to Vucevic.

Bulls are now just 6-5 after starting 5-0 and it looks like Vuc's production has gone down the last few games.

I think he's a good fit for the Cs.
Not really a shot blocker, but he's big and he can shoot 3s.
Also a very good rebounder.

Queta, Vuc, and Garza will be a solid 3-headed monster at Center.

[keevsnick1]

Nothing worse than posts that say "that's dumb" yet give zero explanation as to why.

Even worse when the thing they claim is dumb is an article that was very well thought out, articulate, in depth, nuanced and backed by data, historical examples and lots of game film

And no, Payton Pritchard playing center is not the same as jayson Tatum playing center. That's an incredibly weak argument.

I don't think it's a crazy idea, but I think it's very unlikely Tatum is going to be playing Center for the Celtics to any significant degree.

First of all, he's just not big enough. He was listed as 6'8, with a 6'11 wingspan and an 8'11 wingspan before the draft. He's grown a bit, especially height wise, but you still want a standing reach closer to 9'2+ and a wingspan of more like 7'2+ for a center.

This deficiency will show up most in paint protection. Tatum is a good secondary rim protector at forward, but ideally your center will either A) Deter shots at the rim from occurring or B) Lower opponents' accuracy at the rim. Tatum doesn't really do either. Looking at cleaning the glass opponents took a higher % of their shots at the rim (+2.6%), and made a higher percentage of those shots (+1.2%), when Tatum was on the floor then off last season. Same for the season before that. His overall block% is fine for a wing, hovering around .7%-.8%, but its not center level. Now of course part of that is just that you have different responsibilities playing wing vs if he were playing center, but still he's not a shot deterrent.

Compare this to a couple other rim protectors. Numbers are on/off for 24-25 season.
With Zubaac on rim attempts declined by -4.7% (elite), opponents shot 2.0% better on those shots.
With Turner on rim attempts declined by 0.5%, opponents shot 4.5% worse on those shots.
With Mobley on rim attempts declined by 3.3%, opponents shot 2.5% worse on those shots.
With Kornet on rim attempts declined by 2.2%, opponents shot 5.2% worse on those attempts.
With Kessler on rim attempts declined by 3.3%, opponents shot 1.4% worse on those attempts.
With Gobert on rim attempts declined by 5.9% (elite), opponents shot 2.4% worse on those attempts.

Or lastly for this year so far: With Queta on rim attempts decline by 5.7%, opponents shoot 6.5% worse on those attempts.

Tatum is a great player, but he's not a center. There's a reason centers are Queta's size, he's 6'11.5 with a 9'5 standing reach and a 7'4 wingspan. that size supercharges rim protection.

Ideally, sure. In a perfect world, sure. In a perfect world, we'd have someone like Rudy Gobert to play center. But it's not a perfect world.

Pitino said Larry, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale aren't walking through that door. Well I"m saying that Gobert, Zubac and Mobley are not walking through that door.

To win a championship, you put your best players on the floor.

If Queta is our starting center, then we're not putting our best players on the floor. I do think it's possible Queta could maybe be a decent *backup* big on a championship team - but likely not a starter.

Tatum looks like he's grown since the draft to around 6'9"...he's obviously bulked up a bit over the years and is likely around 230 lbs now, if not more. Standing reach, most centers are at least 9'0"..Tatum at 8'11" is close enough..and that's an old measurement, so he could have grown to be right at 9'0" now.

And in the article there's a bunch of video footage of Tatum defending bigs, defending the paint, blocking shots, etc.
https://thecenterhub.substack.com/p/starting-at-center-for-the-boston

Is it ideal? No. In a perfect world, he's playing more at the 3 and 4. But it's not a perfect world. Sometimes you have to play guys at a different position, based on your personnel and roster construction in order to have your best players on the floor.

And think about how much of a nightmare it would be for opposing 5's to try and guard tatum out on the perimeter. There's clips in the article that show just that - with Tatum having a field day when guys like Bitadze and Gobert switch onto him.

If we are able to acquire a starting caliber center? Great, then do it and play Tatum at the 3/4. But that's much easier said than done. Other teams aren't trying to do us any favors. Other teams know we need a center and aren't gonna just hand a quality big over to us. Usually if teams have a good center, they keep him..

Plus after a torn achilles, most players lose a step. We can make it so he's chasing guys around the perimeter less and (literally) putting less miles on him by playing him at the 5. In terms of how many miles per game guys run, guards run more miles than forwards, forwards run more miles than centers. And guards are having to do more taxing lateral movements when defending guys out on the perimeter than forwards..forwards are having to do more taxing lateral movements when defending guys out on the perimeter than centers..so playing him at center, we decrease the chances of further leg injuries to Tatum - the highest paid player in league history, coming off a very serious leg injury.

I think there is merit to the idea of him playing less on the perimeter, but having a rim protecting center is the assets way to build an elite defense in the NBA and I just can't see the Celtics passing that up. if you're a good team the idea of Tatum at center is more an idea you'd like to have in your back pocket for certain moments, not a plan you roll with all season.

I don't think getting a starting level center the level of say Ivica Zubac or Myles Turner, the above average but not elite type, is beyond the Celtics capabilities. Its less about what they CAN do, and more about what is available. My guess is they'll go out, spend some future draft picks, and get the best available center in the 15–25-million-dollar range. Zubaac is probably the best option in that range.